Donald Clarke <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>I sympathise with an orchestra that wants to play Wuorinen for
>people who won't listen, but the question remains: how often have
>Robert Simpson, Michael Tippett, Harold Shapero, Walter Piston etc
>etc been played in Milwaukee or anywhere else? Nothing difficult
>about these composers and they have musical personalities of their
>own, unlike Lloyd Webber or what's-his-name who writes the Star
>Wars music. ...

Yes, there is plenty of wonderful accessible music out there, stuff that
is rarely played.  For me, the question is why is it not played?

I think about the tragic situation of our local classical radio
station...which is now a movement of fluff, followed by another movement
of fluff.  It is great for the waiting rooms of doctors offices, and I
would assume they contribute to the station because it provides them
with low cost background music.

When I think about the programming of orchestras...if one were to apply
the same notions of programming to what is offered in movie theaters you
would find countless rescreenings of Gone with the Wind and Citizen Kane.
Art museums would be filled with reproductions of the Mona Lisa, etc.
Concerts of popular music would be all songs made famous by Sinatra...etc.
How did art music get locked into a few "masterpieces?"

Karl

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